Google Drive coming to take on Dropbox and iCloud

Google is all set to launch a cloud-based storage solution to rival the likes of Dropbox and Apple's iCloud.

That's according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which cites our old pals "people familiar with the matter" as having knowledge of the platform.

"Like Dropbox, Google's storage service, called Drive, is a response to the growth of Internet-connected mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and the rise of cloud computing, or storing files online so that they can be retrieved from multiple devices," says the report.

Google's Drive, or G-Drive has been a long-running rumour but with the success of Dropbox - worth between $1 billion and $2 billion and with more than 50 million users - the timing for a launch is nigh.

With the ubiquitous array of Android mobile devices, both tablets and smartphones, and the huge Google community (through Gmail, Google+, YouTube and the rest), the Mountain View client would have no issues building a user-base, although attracting them away from the likes of Dropbox may be tricky.

But, with the report suggesting Google may offer a more generous freemium model than Dropbox (which offers 2GB as the standard free allowance), backed by Gmail-style ads, and a cheaper premium model it may have a chance.

Google is keeping tight-lipped so far, but with Gmail and Google Docs already making use of the Google "cloud", a virtual drive isn't exactly a massive step for the search giant.